


Double Espresso and a Head Cold

by Cumberbatch Critter (ivelostmyspectacles)



Series: Mommy and Daddy's World Hopping - Between the Pages [14]
Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Developing Relationship, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 21:05:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5348489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivelostmyspectacles/pseuds/Cumberbatch%20Critter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Fai D. Flourite fell in love with the tall, dark, and mysterious customer that frequented the coffee shop he worked for.</p><p> </p><p>Otherwise known as: Yet Another Coffee Shop AU That Nobody Asked For.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double Espresso and a Head Cold

**Author's Note:**

> I started working on this months, months, MONTHS ago. Forgot about it, found it again, lost the muse, found the muse, and finally finished it and forgot to post it and wow I just really sucked with this one. _That_ being said, I think it's cute despite my failings as a writer, so pop down and keep reading~
> 
> I do not own _Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle_. Thanks for reading! :D

"Welcome to The Coffee Bean~" Fai greeted, instinctual than actual glee, and turned his attention from the cash register to the new patron. He was tall, with dark spiky hair and abnormally colored eyes, wearing a form-fitting black tee and blue jeans. Oh, he was kind of cute. "What can I get you?"

"Double espresso."

"'kay! That'll be three sixty-nine. Can I get your name?"

"Kuro."

Fai nodded, although he was a tiny bit disappointed that he didn't get this guy's whole name. There were so many options that could stem off from ‘Kuro-san’. Oh well.

"Here ya go!" he said, handing the cup over to this ‘Kuro-san’.

His customer grunted and took his coffee, turning away. Stoic, then.

Fai raised an eyebrow and watched him go, before shrugging and turning to his next customer. "Hi!"

 

 

A week later, the guy came back.

"Hi~" he greeted. "Welcome back!"

Kuro-san huffed and gave his order. "Double espresso."

"Sure! Kuro-san, right?"

"Yeah."

Fai hummed as he prepared the coffee. Maybe this guy was going to be a regular. He finished the espresso and handed it over to his mysterious (cute) customer. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks."

"Come back again~"

 

 

Kuro-san did.

"Double espresso!" Fai exclaimed, instead of his usual _hello_.

Kuro-san looked surprised, and glanced around himself, before shrugging. "Yeah."

Fai beamed. "How are you today, Kuro-san?"

"Just peachy."

That was more conversation than they were used to.

 

 

Fai saw his newest regular before he'd even crossed the street, so he prepared the coffee ahead of time. He also had an idea now; he had the coffee order memorized - it was pretty simple, as far as coffee went - and he was planning to take advantage of that.

He set the coffee on the countertop just as Kuro-san walked up.

Kuro-san blinked at him, eyes tracking from Fai's face to the paper cup on the counter.

"Double espresso," Fai said, inquiringly, as though he didn't know.

"Yeah." Kuro put down the money and reached for the coffee, but Fai didn't let go of it.

Fai smiled pleasantly. "Name?"

Ah, there was the frown. "What?"

"I need your name."

"You know my coffee order. You know my name." Kuro-san tried to pull the coffee away.

And Fai hung onto it. "Name!"

"Kuro."

"Kuro what~?"

"Just Kuro." Ooh, was that a hint of irritation?

Fai bit back the laugh, and smiled brightly instead. He still didn't let go of the coffee.

"... Kurogane," his customer muttered.

 _Kurogane_... Right. Fai filed it away, under the file of _good looking stranger who goes by Kuro-san_. He let go of the coffee cup, and gave a little wave. "Thanks for stopping by!"

 

 

‘Kurogane’ was a mouthful. Fai could see why he went by Kuro-san. Still, he took care to write out ‘Kurogane’ in loopy handwriting on the side of his coffee cup when he came in the next time, and pretended not to notice when Kurogane noticed.

 

 

He replaced the ‘o’ with a ‘♡’ a few days later, and relished in the affronted look that crossed Kurogane’s face when he glanced at it. Fai managed to hold in his laughter until Kurogane had gone; when his boss asked him what had gotten him so giddy, he only shook his head and went to clean some dishes.

 

 

When Kurogane started coming in every day, Fai started writing nicknames on the cup. First it was _Kuro-san_ , and then it was _Kuro-tan_ , and then it was _Kuro-pippi_ and _Kuro-puppy_.

Apparently the dog joke went too far, because Fai actually got a glare for that one, and a "stop with the nicknames."

He just wrote _Kuro-puu_ in bubble letters the next time, and chuckled when Kurogane looked ready to jump the countertop and strangle him.

 

 

Fai wasn't the best at honest flirting, but when he wrote _Kuro-cutie_ on the side of the cup even before Kurogane was there, he figured there was no room for misinterpretation.

But it all went pear-shaped when Kurogane came in in a hurry, closer to the hour than was usual, talking into his phone with irritation. He paid for his coffee and took it without his usual, cursory glance.

Fai watched him go with a little frown.

Well. That could have gone better.

 

 

Kurogane was back the next day, and Fai wasn't one to give up.

"You'd better not be about to write the same thing on my cup as you did yesterday," Kurogane grumbled as Fai picked up the marker.

Oh, so he had seen it then~ Fai grinned, twirling the marker between his fingers.

"I go to work with that, you know."

Fai's grin grew.

"I had a meeting. My boss wouldn't leave me alone. Crazy witch."

Fai laughed out loud. "What would you like me to write on it, then?"

"Kurogane."

Fai stuck out his tongue. "Boring. How about... Mr. Black? Ninja-looking dude? Kuro-snugglewuggle?"

"No!"

"How about-"

" _No_."

"My number~?"

"... What?"

Fai shrugged a little. He took some joy in the way that Kurogane's retorts had died on his lips, the confused look on his face now. Was it that hard to understand? "My number. I'm giving you my number." He scribbled down his number on the cardboard cup, and held it out to Kurogane.

The guy was still staring at him. Hadn't he ever been asked out before? Geesh. Talk about making Fai uncomfortable; he wasn't inexperienced with dating but asking someone out still wasn't the least consequential of things he'd done lately.

Fai cleared his throat. "Have a nice day?" he tried, flicking his gaze over Kurogane's shoulder to the small line of people that had grown, awaiting their turn to order.

That seemed to help, at least; Kurogane took the cup and slapped down money, turning to stride out without another word.

Fai blew out a shaky breath and dragged his fingers through his hair. Well! That probably could have better. Could have gone worse, though.

He put on a smile and beamed at the next patron. "Welcome to the Coffee Bean!"

 

 

When Kurogane didn't come back, Fai couldn't say that he wasn't disappointed. He wasn't surprised, he guessed, but he would be lying to say that he didn't care.

But it didn't matter. Gosh, it wasn't like they were serious or anything. Kurogane came in before work; Fai made his coffee. They'd barely had one conversation over two sentences. He didn't even know the guy.

_But that was the point of giving him your number!_

Fai huffed and waved the thoughts away. If Kurogane wanted to come back, he would come back. If Kurogane wanted to call, he would call. It was as simple as that. Get your head in the game, Flourite!

 

 

Kurogane must have found a new coffee shop. That was all. Which was a little disappointing, more than a little, because well. Not only had he lost a friend, but he'd lost a regular customer.

Oh well?

Fai sighed and continued to scrub the tabletops.

"Hey, Fai-san!"

Fai didn't look up, reaching for a bag of coffee. "Hmm?"

"Your friend's here!"

Fai frowned at the bag, wedged behind other things in the cabinet. "What friend?" he called distractedly.

"That young man you asked out last week!"

Fai jumped and glanced over his shoulder, cringing when there was a clatter above his head and the bags and canisters started to fall. "Oh, no, no, no!" He managed to grab the coffee he'd initially been going for before it fell, but a canister of cocoa bounced off the cabinet and burst open in a cloudburst of powder. "Sh-" Fai didn't even get the curse out, reeling away as he inhaled the cocoa and coughed and _coughed_.

"Fai-san? Oh my."

"I'm fine!" He coughed some more, waving his hand. "I'm fine... I'll clean it up...!"

"Don't worry, dear. I'll clean this up. Go see your friend."

"Are you- are you sure? I can-"

"He's already waiting for his coffee, Fai-san."

"Oh...!" Too many things were happening at once! Fai glanced down at himself, covered in cocoa powder and hurriedly untied his apron. "Thank you, Oba-san! I'll be back in a sec!" He flung the apron aside and hurried out, running his fingers through his hair. "Hi, Kuro-sa- oh, you look horrible."

He hadn't meant to say it, but it was true. Kurogane was swathed in a heavy coat, face half buried into a scarf that did nothing to help hide the runny nose or red eyes.

Kurogane scowled, turning away to cough into his arm. "You don't look much better," he mumbled a second later, voice scratchy.

Fai laughed a bit. "But I only had an accident with cocoa, you look like you had a run-in with the flu!"

"The flu and bronchitis," Kurogane muttered. "Haven't been to work in a week..."

"I wondered what had happened to you!" Fai said, grabbing a cup. "I thought maybe you found a better place for coffee."

"No." Kurogane tugged at his scarf and coughed into it.

"Hmm." Fai went for the cabinet instead of the coffee machine. "Do you trust me, Kuro-kun?"

"I don't know you."

"That's not true! I'm here all the time~" Regardless of what Kurogane said, Fai was altering his double espresso order today.

"I only know your name because it's pinned on your apron, most of the time."

Hadn't he ever told him his name? Fai hummed in thought, but he guessed that it had never really come up. "Well, my name's Fai Flourite, I've worked here for six months, and I'm a cat person but I also loves dogs~"

"What kind of random fact is that?"

"The random kind!" Fai popped a lid on the cup and turned around, setting it down in front of Kurogane. "So, this isn't coffee." Kurogane frowned, but Fai pushed ahead. "It's tea! It's a new kind we got, I think it's really good, _and_ you should have tea instead of coffee when you're sick." He grinned and leaned his elbows on the counter, resting his head on his hands. "If you don't like it, I'll make you the espresso instead."

Kurogane grunted, taking the tea. "... No sugar or milk, right?"

Fai shook his head. "Uh uh. If you want sugar, it's over there. And if you want milk-"

"No," Kurogane interrupted, and sipped at the tea.

"Well~?"

"... It's good," Kurogane said, looking a little dejected, as if he was looking for a reason to say it was disgusting.

Fai laughed. "Good!"

Kurogane took another drink of his tea and lingered, leaning against the counter slightly. Fai was grateful that it was a slow day. Kurogane glanced up and narrowed his eyes. "You have stuff on your face."

"Huh?" Fai ran his fingers against his forehead and cheeks. "Cocoa powder? Where?"

"You didn't get it."

"It's all over me!" Fai whined.

Kurogane sighed and grabbed a napkin, clearing the gap between them to wipe it away.

Oh. Wow. He was close. Really close. And smelled like menthol and cough syrup. And he was staring at him.

"... Are you flirting with me?" Fai breathed out, after a moment.

Kurogane didn't move back. "... You started it."

"You didn't call."

"I was sick."

"Does that mean you planned to call?"

The bell on the door chimed as someone walked in. Fai straightened up, dragging his elbows from the countertop, and Kurogane took a step back.

"... Thanks for the tea," Kurogane said. "How much do I owe you?"

Fai smiled and shook his head. "It's on me!"

"... Okay."

"Feel better, Kuro-san~"

"Sure." Kurogane wrapped his fingers around the cup and stepped away. "See you."

"See you~" _That means he'll come back. That means he's planning on coming back~_

 

 

Fai gasped, rubbing his fingers into his chest.

Oh God, he was miserable.

He had to have caught this from Kurogane, unless someone else had come in carrying their germs as they were getting sick or getting better. But Kurogane had only been in his face for a few seconds... _ugh_.

He coughed and buried his face into his pillow. And coughed more. And kept coughing until he was hacking up phlegm into one of the many tissues surrounding him on the futon and he curled into himself, trembling and gasping for breath.

While he was dozing, he thought he heard his phone rang. He cared absolutely _zero_ percent. He'd call back later. When he had his voice back, because he couldn't talk right now, anyway.

He groggily checked his phone when he woke up, squinting at the unfamiliar number. Uhhh... He swiped his finger across the screen to the notification blinking on his messages.

[Received] _Why did you want me_  
to call when you won't  
answer your phone?

It took him too long to realize, too half asleep and sick for his brain to work properly, quickly.

And then he texted back.

[Sent] _Kuro-san?_

[Received] _Yeah.  
_ [Received] _Who did you expect?_

[Sent] _dunno. sorry_

[Received] _Give many people  
your number lately?_

[Sent] _No_

[Received] _You weren't at work._

Fai stared blankly at the little black words. Kurogane had gone into the shop today? Looking for _him_? Or just looking for a good cup of coffee, Fai wondered. Oh gosh, he felt horrible. Even Kurogane coming around only made him feel a little better.

[Sent] _I'm sick_

There was a pause in the texting, and Fai's fingers loosened around the phone. His chest hurt and his throat hurt and his head was pounding. The vibration of the phone woke him up a few minutes later.

[Received] _My fault?_

[Sent] _No_

[Received] _What do you have?_

[Sent] _A cold_  
[Sent] _gotta sleep, Kuro-_  
san :/

Not that he wanted to, but he was going to fall asleep, and he figured he ought to tell Kurogane since he'd gone to the trouble of calling _and_ texting.

Well. He _had_ called and texted. Maybe there was hope...

Fai coughed up more nasty unattractive _grossness_ into his tissues.

... if he survived this flu or whatever, that was.

 

 

_"Feeling better?"_

"Well, I can talk now." Fai coughed slightly. "Mostly."

 _"You're unfair, you know,"_ Kurogane said critically.

"Huh?"

_"Well, you're not the one coming into the coffee shop every day. You could buy me tea when I was sick, but I can't return the favor."_

Fai smiled tiredly, sinking further into the corner of the sofa. "That's okay. You can buy me a tea when we go out."

_"You're asking me out?"_

"I thought it was kind of implied... giving you my number and everything."

_"Huh."_

"Unless you had something else planned," Fai teased. "Rather than coffee. It might be a little boring, but it is how we met."

_"No, I hadn't planned anything yet."_

"Yet?" Fai perked up a little. "So you _were_ planning on planning something?"

_"Urk- no!"_

Fai laughed warmly, which turned into another hacking cough. He held the phone away from his face, but still the first thing he heard when he pressed it back to his ear was

 _"Sound like you need that tea_ now _."_

"Well... I'm still working on getting better," Fai mumbled and cleared his throat. "You could bring me tea."

_"Bring you tea where?"_

"My house, silly."

_"Your house?"_

"Well, my apartment."

_"Are you inviting me over?"_

Was everything a question with this guy? "Do you _want_ to come over? I don't think I'm at my best right now..."

_"I won't catch it back."_

"I didn't even say I got sick from you."

_"Yeah, whatever."_

Fai rubbed his head. "Does that mean you're coming over?"

_"I don't know where you live."_

"I was going to tell you!" he said, chuckling a little. "If you're going to come over."

_"Just give me the address already."_

Fai inhaled in mock affrontedness. "So demanding! Is Kuro-san going to be a demanding lover?"

 _"We're not even dating yet!!"_ Kurogane growled, and Fai was laughing and coughing again.

 

 

"You look horrible."

Fai laughed weakly, remembering full what that was what he'd said to Kurogane earlier in the week. "Hi."

"Hey." Kurogane held out the paper cup. "It's not from your place, but it's still a pretty good shop. Dunno if the tea's up to snuff, though."

Fai smiled gently, taking it from him. "Ah, thanks. Come in, if you want."

"Sure."

Fai stepped aside, gesturing him in. "Sorry it's a mess..." It really was a mess, there was no other word for it. Nevermind the general clutter, but add in the tissues everywhere and _wow_ , he really should have tried to clean up a little. Ehh.

Kurogane shrugged. "You're sick."

"Yeah." He closed the door and hovered in the doorway a bit. Contrary to flirting, he didn't _actually_ date often. And he definitely didn't invite guys to his apartment on the first date. "Do you want me to-"

"No," Kurogane interrupted. "Go sit down."

Fai took his attention off his tea (and burned his tongue when he took a sip). "Huh?"

"You're sick, you don't need to be doing anything. Go sit down."

Fai rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, trying to get rid of the pain. "Um, okay, but that's not very... sociable."

"I didn't come here to be sociable." Kurogane huffed a bit, looking grumbly. "But I brought over a movie, if you think you needed to be doing something."

"A _movie_?" Fai inhaled a little. "Wait, Kuro-pon, is this our _first date_?"

"Keep taking that tone like we're ten and I'm leaving."

"Aww~" Fai beamed. "I'd love to watch a movie with you!"

"Tch. Go sit down."

Fai nodded and went to sink onto the sofa - gratefully, trying not to let show how _exhausted_ he still was - as Kurogane fiddled around with the DVD player and the TV. The movie blared to life on the screen a few minutes later, and Kurogane flopped down next to him.

"It's an action-adventure. About a ninja."

"Ohh." Fai settled more comfortably into the cushions, and blew on his tea before taking another drink. "Sounds interesting."

"It's one of my favorites," Kurogane replied.

Fai nodded. He was already learning things about him! This could go really well, if he played it right.

 

 

Turns out, a sure-fire way to seduce your crush was to fall asleep in the beginning of his favorite movie and end up sleeping half on him, drooling and snotting on his shoulder and all.

Even better if you had chapped lips the first time you kissed.

And if you went out for coffee on your month, six month, and one year anniversaries...

"What can I get you?"

Fai leaned against the counter and turned away from the person requesting his order, looking at Kurogane, who was playing a board game with two of the kids in the shop, and smiled softly. "... A double espresso and a pen," he said softly.

"Beg pardon?"

Fai hummed to himself as he scribbled on the side of the cup and headed back over to his boyfriend. "Here you go~"

"Oh," Kurogane glanced up. "Thanks." He took the coffee and, whether out of accident or ingrained habit, looked at the writing on the side. "... Really, barista?"

Fai smiled and leaned down to kiss him, taking his face in his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, love you, too," Kurogane muttered. "Now would you knock it off, there's kids here!"

Fai laughed and sat down, propping his head on his hand to watch.

　

_Kuro-love of my life_

 


End file.
